subject: A Quick Guide To Liposuction Techniques [print this page] Liposuction is one of the most common cosmetic procedures done today by many people who want to achieve their perfect figure. Liposuction is a surgical procedure involving a stainless steel tube called cannula inserted to the body part that needs fat reduction and a suction pump that sucks fat globules to reduce the overall fat content of the affected body part.
There are many techniques in liposuction and these techniques are categorized according to the amount of fluid injection and the mechanism that involves the liposuction procedure.
Types of Liposuction Techniques According to fluid Injection
Dry Liposuction
Dry liposuction is the oldest form of liposuction that dates as far as the 1970s. This technique involves no injection of any fluid at all and therefore causes more pain than modern procedures. Due to the pain it may involve, a local anesthesia is necessary to reduce such pains. It also poses more risks for the patients such as blood loss and skin denting. This procedure is rare nowadays due to the risks and is now replaced by modern techniques.
Wet Liposuction
Wet liposuction is a modern and safer procedure developed in the 1980s in which a small amount of fluid is injected to the body part that needs fat removal. This small amount of liquid usually contains lidocaine as a local anesthetic, salt solution to provide an isotonic environment and adrenaline to cause vasoconstriction to avoid severe bleeding. The vasoconstriction effect also loosens up fat cells for a much easier suction.
Super Wet Liposuction
Super wet liposuction is a modified wet liposuction technique on where the patient is injected with the same amount of fat to be removed. This technique is preferred by many cosmetic surgeons on high-volume liposuction procedures due as it provides better homeostasis. It involves local lidocaine anesthesia and IV sedation.
Tumescent Liposuction
Tumescent liposuction is almost the same with wet liposuction. Tumescent liposuction involves injecting a large amount of fluid directly to the subcutaneous fat to be removed. This fluid is usually composed of lidocaine and epinephrine to provide anesthetic and vasoconstriction effect respectively.
Types of Liposuction Technique According to the Mechanism used
Suction-Assisted Liposuction (SAL)
This is the most common technique used in many liposuction procedures involving a suction pump that sucks fat globules drawing them out of the body.
Ultrasound-Assisted Liposuction (UAL)
Ultrasound-assissted liposuction involves using a special probe that uses ultrasound vibrations into the targeted body part to emulsify the fat cells in order for easier suction. After UAL, it usually involves the standard suction-assisted liposuction in order to remove the emulsified fats.
Power-Assisted Liposuction
This procedure is almost the same with UAL, however, it uses a special power-assisted cannula with mechanized movement so the surgeon does not need make many manual movements.
Twin Cannula Liposuction
This procedure involves another special type of cannula that consists of another cannula within a cannula. In short, it has one inner and one outer cannula that work in conjunction with the other so that the inner cannula that aspirates the fat does not touch the tissues of the body.
These different types of technique used in liposuction usually involve a combination of two or more techniques in order to achieve better results. There are other liposuction techniques existing today, however, some of these techniques are in their early stages of development and rarely used in nowadays.
